The brunch also had performances from the school band and musical theater group. Students had posters and letters thanking Veterans.
Tom Tait III’s third-grade teacher politely interrupted The Sun’s interview with him at Berlin Community Elementary School as he was talking about his time in the Marine Corps. She came up to him, gave him a big hug and smiled as she said, “I had to interrupt; I taught him many years ago.” He finished her sentence and said “in third grade.”
As she walked away, the 35-year-old Tait couldn’t help but laugh. He had only been back in Berlin for a week, but it felt like home to him again.
“This is great because I came here, I played saxophone and did musical theater right up on that stage,” Tait said as he pointed to the stage in the school gymnasium. “Some of my teachers are still here, it’s great.”
He was back in Berlin for the annual Veterans Day Brunch held at the school. It’s the third year the event was held for veterans and active duty men and women in Berlin and the surrounding communities. Besides being served brunch, the school band and musical theater group performed on stage, and students created handmade posters and letters thanking the military men and women for their service.
Health and physical education teacher Matt Jenkins organized the event and said it’s a tribute to his father who’s a veteran and all the veterans in the community.
“Being the Berlin Community School, I think this is one of the trademarks our school can offer,” he said. “It’s something dear to my heart that I want to build upon each year, and I think the community benefits from it, and it’s a nice tribute.”
Tait is stationed in southern California and has been in the Marine Corps for more than 17 years. He said enlisting in the military was the best thing he ever did.
“It’s fantastic, I don’t even know where to start,” he said.
After attending Berlin Community Elementary School, he graduated from Eastern Regional High School. He was one of the very few who didn’t go to college; only he and two others in his class enlisted in the military.
“It wasn’t something everybody did then,” he explained. “No war was going on, but then 2001 happened, and the next thing you know, everyone is being deployed.”
He said he learned a great deal from the military and thinks everyone should do at least one tour.
“Marine Corps teaches you a lot of things like education and world traveling,” he said. “I met a lot of people and learned how to deal with people around the world and different cultures. I received a lot of education, whether it was formal or life experience, and I couldn’t have made a better decision.”
Berlin resident Peter Winchester served in Vietnam in 1970 in the Navy Seabees. The 67-year-old said it’s nice having events such as this where military men and women are thanked, because it was the complete opposite when he served.
“When we came home, no one thanked us,” he said. “We were not considered heroes. When they come home today, they are considered heroes, which is great. I’d rather see it that way than it was with us.”
Jim Eckert, a member of the National Guard in the 177th Fighter Wing out of Egg Harbor Township, felt privileged to be at the event.
“It was a great event, I felt honored and respected,” he said. “The effort and time the students and teachers put into this event was great.”
Eckert said the students had some great questions about the military and thinks they had just as much fun as he did.
“It’s great to teach the kids there what Veterans Day truly means and for them to interact with their veterans and their local community,” he said.
Tait echoed that statement, saying the kids may not have a real sense of what exactly happens in the military.
“It’s great interaction because they don’t know what’s going on in the military,” he explained. “They see the movies, they see the news, but that’s not what it’s all about. There are so many other things that go on.”
